Making the Most of Your Textbook

1
Making the Most of Your Textbook

• Did you know that your textbook had built-in aids
  to help make learning easier?
• Textbooks are organized to help you learn from
  them.
• Look for the following features of your textbook
  to make your study more effective.

2
At the Beginning

• Table of Contents
• Learning Objectives

3
Table of Contents

• Scan the table of contents located at the front
  of the book. It contains a list of the chapters
  in a book and the pages where they begin.
• By looking at the table of contents, you can see
  the topics and areas covered in the book.

4
Learning Objectives

• Look for the learning objectives of the chapter.
  
• These are usually the main points of the chapter
  and are listed at the beginning of each chapter.
  Occasionally, they are found at the end of the
  chapter.

5
Throughout the Text

• Section headings
• Topic sentences
• Pictures, maps and illustrations
• Graphs, tables, and figures
• Special typeface or formatting
• Vocabulary

6
Section Headings

• Check for section headings throughout the text.
• These headings help you as the reader understand
  the book's structure and divide the chapter into
  learning units.   

7
Topic Sentence

• Notice the topic sentence, the first sentence in
  each paragraph.
• The topic sentence gives the main idea of the
  paragraph.

8
Pictures, Maps, and Illustrations

• Examine the pictures, maps, and illustrations in
  the chapter.
• By reading the captions and labels you will
  discover important information you may need to
  know.

9
Graphs, Tables and Figures

• Look at the graphs, tables, and figures and make
  sure you understand them.
• Surprisingly, these images can contain more
  information than straight text.

10
Special Typeface or Formatting

• Watch for special typeface or formatting.
• Boldface, italics, underlined, numbered items,
  and lists usually indicate important information.

11
Vocabulary

• Notice new vocabulary in the chapter and make a
  list of unfamiliar terms.
• Oftentimes important vocabulary may be italicized
  or in bold in the text. Many books contain a
  glossary of important words.

12
At the End

• Conclusion or summary
• End of chapter questions
• Glossary
• Index

13
Conclusion or Summary

• Be sure to read the conclusion or summary at the
  end of the chapter.
• The summary tells you the main points or ideas
  that the author thought were important

14
End of Chapter Questions

• Be able to answer the questions at the end of the
  chapter.
• These questions usually cover the most important
  information in the chapter.

15
Glossary

• Look in the back of your textbook for the
  glossary, a small dictionary of important words.
  Words in the glossary are often the bold or
  italicized words from the text.
• These words are included in the glossary because
  they are difficult or specialized.

16
Index

• Look at the back of the book for the index, which
  lists topics, people, and places mentioned in the
  book.
• The index also tells the page where that
  information appears.

17
Other Uses

• Many other nonfiction texts besides textbooks
  have these same features. Look for these
  features in other books such as
• --hobby and sports books
• --encyclopedias, almanacs, and
• general nonfiction books
• --car repair manuals
• --magazines

18
Sources

• Hess, Frances S. et. al. Earth Science Geology,
  the Environment, and the
• Universe. New York, NY Glencoe,
  2002. (pp. viii, 53, 172, 215,
• 255, 485, 592, 614, 621, 806, 822,
  938.
• How to Read a Science Textbook.
  http//userpages.wittenberg.edu/dfinster/reading.h
  tml
• How to Read a Textbook (and Take
  Notes).http//planet.tvi.cc.nm.us/darryld/readin
  g99/course/readtextbk.htm
• How To Read a Textbook The PQRST Approach.
  http//cob.jmu.edu/woodtf/how_to_read_a_text_book.
  htm
• P-R-R How to Read Your Textbook More
  Efficiently. http//www.utexas.edu/student/utlc/l
  rnres/handouts/1422.html
• Reading How To Read a Textbook.
  http//www.literacymatters.org/content/readandwrit
  e/textbook.htm